In his first year as New York City schools chancellor, Carranza has tackled historic inequities — but change is slow to reach the classroom

It was evident from the beginning that Richard Carranza would be a different kind of New York City schools chancellor.

At a press conference that introduced him as the new leader of the country’s largest school system, Carranza responded to a question by casually uttering two words that would prove shocking: segregation and integration.

To him, they were merely references to issues confronted in cities where Carranza previously taught and led schools: Las Vegas, San Francisco, and most recently Houston. But they were words that his boss, Mayor Bill de Blasio, and his predecessor, Carmen Fariña, had never spoken publicly. Despite leading one of the nation’s most segregated school systems, both had steadfastly opted for softer references to “diversity.”